Category: Religion

The title represents the current situation of our world today, especially for a typical Muslim family. The title doesn’t suggest a clash between any sects or conflict within one religion. This is merely a reflection on my mind.

Religious is a general word, applying to whatever pertains to faith or worship. Being religious considered as being devout in one religion. But, being obsessed implementing the act of religion sometimes sacrifice other aspects of religion itself. One of that aspects is families.

The obsession makes the approach in religion difficult to follow or rather, seems harsh. This side effects making people pushed away from the religion or even leave the religion. This is a problem we faced.

We have a serious problem in many Muslim families. When parents become ultra-religious, they are actually compensating for a sinful life in the past and they become obsessive-compulsive with religion and they assumed that you are always going to be guilty and you are always going to be in trouble with Allah. Their guilty conscience creates a narrative in religion in which Allah is angry by default and you are always doing something haram. They become literally more Islamic than Islam itself. They started reading into the ayah which is not in the ayah, reading into the hadith which is not in the hadith. And they actually get bothered with the message of forgiveness. They want for all speakers on Khutbah to say: “You need to talk more of punishment of Allah instead of forgiveness!”

When we are bothered in a discourse on forgiveness, it is a problem.

There are a lot of youths spoken out that they are barely holding on to Islam, and still Allah saved them. “What was the biggest thing pushed you away from Islam?” “Parents.”

This is insane. Tell your family, please be patient. Don’t be harsh. Be gentle.

But it seems they are trying to defend themselves. “No no no I never do that.” They don’t seem to have awareness of their own problems. Moreover, because they are convinced that their method is on the right path, they couldn’t find the other way as an alternative.

First and foremost, if your family has a similar situation, please bear in mind that you need to acknowledge the issue. This is important. Don’t try to pretend that your situation is fine. Seek for counsel of Allah afterward and having a discussion inside your family, with a good and sincere intention. Please, speak it out from your bottom heart, don’t let your anger come inside.

We may have heard the Treaty of Hudaibiyah (Suluh Hudaibiyah[1]) as one of the milestones along the early of Islamic history, particularly the Prophet’s Seerah. This treaty has made an incredible impact on Islam and Muslims, even until today. About the background of this treaty, as well as how the narratives goes, please check the other article: True Purpose of Victory

The terms ‘Treaty” itself was introduced by some Mufasseerun and Muslim Scholars to highlight the treaty (suluh: الصلح) on the Hudaibiyah event. Many of the companions from the very first time, always remembered Hudaibiyah as War or Ghazwat (الغزوة).

Salama bin Al-Akwa` said, “I fought in seven Ghazwat along with the Prophet.” He then mentioned Khaibar, Al-Hudaibiya, the day (i.e. battle) of Hunain and the day of Al-Qurad. I forgot the names of the other Ghazwat. (Sahih Bukhari)

Even though there was no real battle with the enemy, companions of the Prophet always remembered that Hudaibiyah was one of the toughest battles they overcome. Psychological battle. Because they went on facing themselves. They were in chaos, couldn’t believe what they were seeing. As if they have lost the battle itself.

Prophet Muhammad s. had with him hundreds of companions. If their emotions were intense, can they be calmed down easily? They were in intense fear before in Ahzab[2] situation, and now they will go to Makkah. Alas, it is fear, anticipation and then rage becomes one when they were in Hudaibiyah. They heard about the murder of Uthman, the assassinations attempt, and now the treaty offered by Quraish, in which the treaty itself seems unfair.

When the treaty was offered by the Quraish, they feel like they are losing mind because of the contents. Yet, the insight for all the scenes in the Hudaibiyah including the treaty was told years later, and the significance impact of this treaty can be seen three years after, it is the Opening of Makkah (Fathu Makkah[3]).

The treaty creates domino effect within the Muslim community and the world surrounding and leads them to Fathu Makkah. But the Opening of Makkah is not the victory itself, although it signifies Muslim’s victory in their early history. There is a certain parameter that Allah has been set for victory.

Do you (people) consider the conquest of Mecca, the Victory (referred to in the Qur’an 48:1). Was the conquest of Mecca a victory? We really consider that the actual Victory was the Ar-Ridwan Pledge of allegiance which we gave on the day of Al-Hudaibiya (Sahih Bukhari)

The implication of the victory itself actually lies within the companions. The best victory of all is the companions. They were the best results of the Prophet’s teaching. Their discipline has overcome their own fiery rage in order to follow the Prophet’s command. Even when in Hudaibiyah, knowing the treaty that has been signed by the Prophet, they were in chaos. They were anticipating the dream of the day when they can go to Makkah peacefully, and yet they need to ward-off and signing an “unfair” treaty. When the Prophet told them to shave their head and sacrifices their animals which signify the end of their pilgrimage, they were in one period of silence. This is the first time they did not follow the commands as soon as possible. They act until the Prophet shaved his heads and sacrificed his animals. It is amazing that they at least did follow the Prophet after all the fiery moments in Hudaibiyah!

Upon all features happened in Hudaibiyah, the most notable is how the companions react at the end of the day. Their disciplined let them overcome their rage. The victory is not about overcome the city of Makkah. It is all about the companions. The companions itself is the sign of the victory.

notes:

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (Arabic: صلح الحديبية) was an important event that took place during the formation of Islam. It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad, representing the state of Medina, and the Quraish tribe of Mecca in March 628 (corresponding to Dhu al-Qi’dah, 6 AH). [from Wikipedia]

Ahzab (أحزاب) means alliance, parties, particularly this term refers to the Quraish and other tribes who Joint Forces in an alliance attacked the Prophet in Madina in the Battle known as ‘Battle of the Ditch’ (غزوة الخندق) and also ‘Battle of the Joint Forces’ (غزوة الأحْزاب).

Fath Makkah often refers to the victory of the Muslims upon opening the city of Makkah. Fath (فتح) itself literally means to remove a lock so the door can be open. It can also mean a removal of sadness in Arabic phrase.

Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded? (QS. 45:23)

To the best of our knowledge, modern human has been living for roughly 100,000 years, only a tiny fraction of 4.5 Billion years that the earth has been around, and yet our impact, to a certain extent, is significant. We may conclude for a long period of time, the inhabitants of the earth are mostly unintelligent beings. Thus, some say that we, human are now separated from other species because of this so-called intelligence. In Abrahamic Faith, all of the religion agreed that Adam was given the knowledge of the names. Hence, he know to use terms as implies within names.

Most researchers today believe that all of the human accomplishment such as farming, foraging, creating societies, and so on, were the product of a revolution in Homo Sapiens’ cognitive abilities. What caused these new ways of thinking and communicating? Researchers argue that genetic mutations changed the inner wiring of the brain, and thus enabling them to come up with new ways of thinking and communicate it with a new type of language. This ability showcase what human are capable of.

As implies within the creation of Adam and what is his best feature, we can conclude that the knowledge and its potential lies within every human being, whether you are creationist or evolutionist. But, let’s not discuss that for now.

Human minds progressed and shape our civilization today, the so-called “Scientific Revolution” era. During this period of time humankind has obtained enormous powers by investing resources in scientific research. It is a revolution because the world obtained enormous medical, military, and economic powers.

But, most people in average having problems digesting modern science. College students having difficulties solving their calculus homework, or how to build their science project. Out of billions of people, how many really understand quantum physics, molecular biology, and macroeconomics? Science nevertheless enjoys immense prestige. Leaders of the world may not understand nuclear physics in detail, but they do know what nuclear bomb is and how catastrophic it may become.

In 1602, Francis Bacon published a scientific manifesto titled, The New Instrument. In that manifesto, he argued that ‘Knowledge is Power’. The real use of knowledge is not whether it is true or not, but whether it empowers us or not. Bacon connects science and technology, and this connection flourishes in the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Having all said that, science at the end of the day is unable to set its own priorities and incapable of determining what to do with its own discoveries. It is merely tools to be utilized.

Even one of the pioneer of the scientific method in our era, British philosopher, logician, and Nobel Prize Winner, Bertrand Russell said, “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” Love and knowledge. If having knowledge is considered as having power then it should be accompanied by principle or moral. It might mislead humankind and brought them to an end.

Human desire is at every cause of war and terror that our world has witnessed. Quran (Look up QS 45:23 in the beginning) called that desire or هوي (hawa) with an original literal meaning “to drop, fall, tumble, fall down,sink, etc.” Hence, any people who follow their desire (lust), as in this meaning, will fall or in this case (Quran) let the people blindly go astray with sealing in their ears and hearts. Even for the person with knowledge (علم).

Sometimes we are having difficulties in separating knowledge as in classical text (hard knowledge) and having “knowledge”. Having a lot of Hadith recitation might not be considered as knowledge if the person did not apply it. Having plenty of information about Islam doesn’t make a person wise.

Imam Malik enlighten us with his saying,

“Knowledge does not refer to plenty of information; rather, knowledge is a light that Allah puts into the heart of a true believer.”

Knowledge is depicted as light from Allah, while the light itself symbolizes hope, a guidance, that will guide us in our darkest moments. Interestingly, the word “knowledge” itself, علم (‘ilm/knowledge) is unique. If you flip the last two letters it will become عمل (‘amal/action), and if you flip the word, it will form لمع (lama’/shine, brilliance).

In Islam, this knowledge that you gain needs to be applied, so that you can gain understanding and be able to become a brilliant person with Allah’s help. The light penetrates the heart of the believer so that he aware of his existence and what needs to be done between him and his Master, and thus taking action in which makes the person shine. What is exactly the light that can penetrate the heart? That light, I can argue, is the Quran, sent down from Allah.

Human desire problem is so deep and complicated. Any knowledgeable and wise person might have fallen because of it. Let it be in politics, economics, or sciences. Everyone might succumb.

They must complete the equation that prescribed before. Let the Quran speak and act as a light. Knowledge is a light that illuminates civilization through the heart of believers. Having plentiful information about Islam is not the same as having knowledge. Having scholarly debates sometimes not considered gaining knowledge if they are following their ego and desire.

Let Allah guide us through His knowledge to act as humanity’s beacon of light.

To most people, their parents and children are the most beloved people to them. If anyone was to try and harm any of them, it is expected that they would get upset and immediately jump to the defense of their honor. We get rushed into action.

For Muslims, the Beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is dearer than anyone else even ourselves. In fact, there are people nowadays that would trade everything just to see him visit them in their dreams. But then, how we honor him?

He is the one who we believe was sent as a Mercy. He is the one who we are indebted to for the message of peace that he came with. Yet, somehow his speech, more notably the hadith has been misused by some people.

People read the Quran and read the hadith, but all too often they read it selectively, taking phrases out of context. People just use it for whatever point they want to make. They come to it with their own mind and look for the verses (ayah) or hadith to confirm what they want to hear.

The Quran was not a shopping list for the good of life. Muslims need to stand back for a panoramic view of the text. Furthermore, hadith, which contains many Prophets speech and action, should not be misused, i.e. taking the phrase out of the real context [1]. These two (Quran and hadith) linguistically are different as a whole.

The Prophet ﷺ speech were used in his specific time, including the language and culture. There is remarkable consistency in his style of speech if we observe closely. One of the research nowadays concludes that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used certain language which structurally different with the Quran. This research counts specific words that were used in hadith, how the structure is, etc, and later compare these findings with the Quran.

The end result from this research is the two book (Quran and hadith) are coming from two different sources!

Regarding the style of his speech, Prophet ﷺ often used hyperbole in hadith [2]. He used the words best and worst to describe something. “The best deeds are….. The worst from people is….” In each of hadith, the description may or may not the same! This is how Prophet ﷺ said. The possibility is that it depends on the objects, with whom the Prophet ﷺ talked to? Or these things is the most amongst you can do, at least.

Another point of the Prophet ﷺ language is when he making a point, he used the language of Zajr (Rebuking). The Prophet was once said to burn the house for someone who did not come to Masjid, the question is did he burn the house?

‘Let men desist from failing to attend the congregation, otherwise, I will burn their houses down.’ (Sunan Ibn Majah [3])

Sometimes also Prophet ﷺ says a thing like, “Whoever does this and that are not amongst us…” Does it mean that kind of activity will remove our Muslim identity? No, of course not.

Muslim scholars define that as Kufr al-Asghar action. It means that only the action itself represents the kufr activity. It is a different term from “Kufr” as in disbelievers. This approach should not be in a literal meaning.

Honoring our Messenger is not only about our action, it is also about our attitude. What is the Quran do to adjust the attitude of believers to the Prophet ﷺ?

The Quran gave him a rank nobody had not been enjoyed, he was honored so much, that there was a danger that people might end up worshipping him [4]. In order to counter that act the Quran needs to say:

Say, “I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord – let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.” [QS. 18:110]

In our daily life, when you are close to someone, the more casual you will be. Imagine the life of Prophet ﷺ when he was appointed as The Messenger of Allah. All of the people, including the people who are close to him, is hold respect to him by saying this word: “قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ” not “قَالَ فلنٌ” or any casual saying when narrated his speech. All of these things are recorded as we learn our hadith tradition. This is our attitude in order to honor our messenger ﷺ.

In conclusion, the nature of our Prophet’s legacy is fiercely contested by a vast majority of Muslim and non-Muslim, each of those sides was impacted greatly.

It is as the famous philosopher in the early 20th century, Muhammad Iqbal says: “You can deny God, but you cannot deny Muhammad.”

In a summary, Hajj (Pilgrimage) is a celebration and commemoration of sacrificial made by Ibrahim ‘alaihissalam. The culmination of the entire thing in the Rasulullah ﷺ life is actually the liberation of the House of ﷲ. The liberation itself could not be separated with the important role of the Qiblah shifting in which The Muslim community gaining its power! Not so long after the shifting, The Quraish wage war against Muslim, and thus The War of Badr happened. Had not the Quran responded with the ayah regarding the shifting, fighting and fasting, no one knows what will happen with the Muslims community at that time!

By the eight years of Migration of The Prophet, in the month of Ramadan, The House of ﷲ successfully liberated. It is the day of Fathul-Makkah (The conquest of Makkah). The House of Ibrahim then purified once again.

Having said all of the historical events occurred regarding the House of ﷲ. Every year, when we are going to make Hajj, we are continuously living up the victory and the fulfillment of the mission of Rasulullah ﷺ. As a people, we are reminded of the entire life of Rasulullah Muhammad ﷺ and the life of Ibrahim ‘alaihissalam, along with the promise that we, as a people, made to ﷲ that we are going to carry the mission of Islam to the rest of humanity. We rejuvenate that mission for every single year in such divine convention which we called Hajj!

We are wearing typically the same clothes, we are doing exactly the same thing! Millions of people dressed exactly the same way and doing the same thing! The communal message for Hajj is always plain and simple: “Equality”.

Prophet ﷺ says in his last sermon of Hajj, “No Arabs superior to non-Arabs. No non-Arabs superior to Arabs. No Black man superior to Red man. No Red man superior to Black Man. The noblest among of you is the one who has taqwa/conscious of God (ﷲ)”

That is the communal sense that we should have as an ummah. How about us as an individual? Hajj is the most communal experience you will ever have, but at the same time is the most personal experience you will ever have!

Then depart from the place from where [all] the people depart and ask forgiveness of ﷲ. Indeed, ﷲ is Forgiving and Merciful. [QS. 2:199]

This is the once in a lifetime opportunity to make Du’a (prayer) that you have never been made before. You have now left everything behind. Practically you have stripped the worldly life (Dunya) out of you. In this particular private-moment, there is nothing left between you and ﷲ.

You are in a place that itself reminds you of death. There is no livelihood in Makkah aside from the miraculous spring of Zamzam. It is barren dessert. Even Ibrahim ‘alaihissalam would describe it as a valley that has absolutely no cultivation whatsoever.

Take a look the last passage of the ayah, interestingly ﷲ use the words إِنَّ. The use of إِنَّ in the ayah signify that ﷲ is giving a kind of guarantee that if we do our Hajj right then ﷲ absolutely will guarantee His forgiveness. He is extremely forgiving and loving.

Hopefully, every time we experience or imagining the remarkable journey of Hajj, our sense of commitment to the work of Ibrahim ‘alaihissalam and the struggle of Rasulullah ﷺ is rejuvenated, and our job as an ummah is refreshed in our heart.

May Allah accept the pilgrims and allow them to return safely to their families. May Allah accept us and answer our prayers and may Allah allow us to go for Hajj in the future years to come.

While our eyes help to capture images surround us, it is that our visual system as a whole made it work, the eyes and brain that have the all important task of organizing, and making sense of what we are seeing. It turns out that our age affects how we visually interpret information.

There is a tendency for people to visually organize things into groups rather than seeing them as individual objects. It is known as Gestalt Perception[1].

A study in Germany showed that young adults perceive and process images in a different way than other adults. Young adults tend to perceive things in detail, while the older one perceive it as a whole as they got lost in details. This study led researchers to believe that the gestalt perception decline with age.

Young adults or even children are found to be more active in learning as they ask many questions, an important or even dumb question. They fill their life with curiosity and creativity. They will ask many detail questions! As we grow older, our perception to interpret reality becomes limited, and it led many averages of us to routine daily life without any space to explore our creativity.

But the issue is not with that curiosity attitude that we had as children, it is about our attitude nowadays. As a civilized people, we should start by asking the right question. For that question, we should come up with the process of thinking. By means of that process, the so-called philosophy is needed as its purpose is to come up with the right questions as one of the scholars, Slavoj Zizek, has to say [2].

The beauty lies in the details, some say, but paying attention to many details may lead to disoriented purpose or goal. Asking questions that are not fit in the context may ruin the process of thinking, blurring its purpose!

One day, I read a few arguments regarding someone prayer (salah) and how they should straightening their rows in a perfect and complete rows. It is as The Prophet ﷺ saying, “Straighten your rows as the straightening of rows is essential for a perfect and correct prayer.” [3]

In the other places, he ﷺ says, “Allah and His angels send blessings upon those who complete the rows, and whoever fills a gap, Allah will raise him one degree in status thereby.” [4]

From the look of these sayings, the arguments and debates began. They are all focused on whether someone has close the gap in between people to make a complete and straight rows. There are people who paying attention to very specific details, how people should make the good and complete row in prayer, even they measure the gap in between people when they salah!

It is not that this thing is not important at all. No, please don’t misunderstand my intention. There are nothing wrong with arguing and debates. But sometimes people losing their temper and self-claim their opinions, while they may also losing their logic within their mind. Thus, series of debates began.

Those endless debates may make us disoriented in our own Muslim society. Additionally, this phenomenon showed that we are still not connected as an Ummah. We should pay attention while still in-tact our mindset as one Ummah. We should ask intelligent questions, not for imposing our arguments to win debates, rather for increasing our humility in our prayer and worship. This is how we improve our personal and social life.

Our Ummahmay need to renew our faith after series of unfortunate events happened in the Muslim world, especially in the last century [5], it as The Prophet ﷺ saying, “The people will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their dish. Someone asked: Will that be because of our small numbers at that time? He replied: No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be scum and rubbish like that carried down by a torrent” [6]

one of the images taken from 9/11 event

This establishment of faith should come first by the process of correct thinking. It is easier for saying than it is to be done in action. As the Ummahkeep falling to the degree of a disunite people and falling into endless debates, and on the other hand, there are problems arise, as our young Muslim becomes obsessed with the idea of Islam without a proper scholarship and rushes into judgment.

Maybe it is as the early paragraph described, young adults rather perceive things more in detail than as a whole. But without proper balance as in knowledge, our Ummah has fallen into that trap, and thus we can’t see the whole picture. We can’t process our thinking properly because we are clouded with debates and rather quick judgment to value something or someone!

There is one video done by Slavoj Zizek, one of the great philosophers today, which explained the purpose of philosophy. You can find it here: Zizek video

Sahih al-Bukhari 723 [Book 10, Hadith 117]

Sunan Ibn Majah [Book 5, Hadith 1048]

The series of unfortunate events started with the division within Arab world as in here, and with the falling of the Ottoman Empire, and the rising of Nation-State model, many Muslim places were invaded, especially one of the heart of Muslim World, Palestine. Long story short, in 2001, all the feeling the western had has culminated after 9/11, and now with the conflict rising in Syria, and the appearance of ISIS to black-flag the religion of Islam, worsening the condition.

As the month of Ramadan ended, the Muslim world was shocked because of the series of unfortunate event, killing and bombing attempts, and even happened near the burial place of the Prophet ﷺ as the believers were about to break their fast.

It is obvious that the objective of all of these attempts is to so inflame Muslim public opinion around the Muslim world that the ranks of Terrorist group such as ISIS would be filled up with over-flowing volunteers, especially young people!

As those groups gain their momentum, the media would then might launch their propaganda to convince mankind that Islam slowly becoming a threat! That propaganda will open up a new door for calamities that will make the Mongol invasions of the 13th century look like a joke!

Indeed, as Hamza Yusuf, one of the Islamic scholars in the US said about the problem of youth Muslim this day, it is a plague within our ranks. There is a plague on the horizon, a faith eating plague that spread out in Muslim communities around the globe.

There are young people of Muslim out there who filled our ancient faith with rage in its message. They are young with full of motivation to change the world, and convinced that the way they are doing is the best way to settle and engage! Thus these young people filled up ISIS easily!

These teachings that sprung in those youths rejects the body of Islamic scholarship from our tradition as a whole! With uncontrollable spirit within them, these young Muslims over-flowing all the social media with rage and full of sentiment, some of them even easily put the Kafir terms on other Muslims! Without any hesitation whatsoever.

Our Muslim communities largely packed with these youths. The next generation of Muslim will be under their leadership, and it is our responsibility to guide them. There is a need for counter-measure of this problem.

What we need to counter this plague are the voices of scholars, as well as activists, we can’t just utterly say that this militancy has little to do with religion! It has everything to do with religion: misguided, fanatical and politicized religion. It does, however, nothing to do with the merciful teachings of our Prophet ﷺ.

In one scene of the Prophet ﷺ life, right after he went back to Makkah, and gained victory without even spilling needlessly blood, for those who provoked, opposed and even tortured his companions, Prophet ﷺ only asked how they thought he was going to deal with them. The Quraish people answered, “as a noble brother” that they expected nothing but goodness from the Prophet ﷺ and he would deal towards them kindly. The Prophet ﷺ spoke telling them“I speak to you in the same words of the prophet Yusuf (Joseph) ‘alaihissalam, who spoke to his brothers.” [for full story: True Purpose of Victory]

That is the true nature and goal of Islam, to seek forgiveness. The source of the forgiveness is The Most Merciful One, ﷲ, as the Prophet ﷺ also showing the attributes of that mercy for everyone, even his own enemies.

As Ramadan comes to a close, let us pray for the oppressed and the guidance of the oppressors, for those who have been killed, and for those who lost their loved ones, and most of all, let us answer our Prophet’s call and want mercy for everyone.